Forsaken
by Little Patch of Heaven
Summary: OFFICIALLY DISCONTINUED.He grew up hearing the stories of the great Fullmetal Alchemist. But to him, Edward Elric was just the father that had forsaken him. Spoilers for the Anime and possibly the movie. .:Edwin:. .:Royai:. Author's note and apology inside.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** _I. Don't. Own. Fullmetal. Alchemist. Got it?_

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**o-o-o-o**

**Forsaken: Prologue**

**o-o-o-o**

_"Brother, what if we can't defeat them?"_

_"Al, the homunculi need to be dealt with. We created one of those monsters."_

_"We're no match for them, brother."_

_The two brothers argued, without even realizing the blonde leaning against the wall, shaking._

_Finally, she stepped out from behind the wall and made her presence known._

_"You two are going off to do something dangerous again, aren't you?" Her voice was quiet, but the two boys' heads whipped around at once. A pair of glowing red dots and a pair of wide golden eyes stared at her._

_A wet substance made its way down her cheeks as she stared back at them. "You're leaving, and this time you won't come back." Her hands balled into fists and she whispered, "Just like Mom and Dad." She turned and ran up the stairs to her room, each step thumping loudly, almost drowning out the yells of "Winry!" and the loud sobs escaping from her throat._

_Her bed shook as she threw herself on it, burying her face in the pillows. Footsteps came closer, too soft for Alphonse's metal body, even now that he had become the legendary Philosopher's Stone. The soft sound of a door opening reached her ears, but she couldn't bring herself to look up at the golden eyed boy she knew stood in the doorway._

_There were no words spoken as he sat himself down on her bed and placed a human hand on her shoulder._

_"You never tell me anything." The words were muffled by the pillow, but the harsh tone was heard anyway._

_There was a silence for a few moments, broken finally when Edward spoke. "We just didn't want you to worry."_

_She jerked upright and stuck her tear streaked face inches from his. "You're going to get yourself killed. Besides Granny, you're all I have left! Al's like family, I don't want to lose him like my parents. And dammit Ed! If you get yourself killed I don't know what I'd do. I LOVE you, you alchemy obsessed idiot!"_

_He simply stared at her with wide, unbelieving eyes._

_"Well go on, say something. I just confessed, dammit!" Winry pounded her fists into his chest in anger at both Edward and herself. Her fists beat his chest with a steady rhythm, until an automail hand shot out and grasped her fist in midair. The hand brought hers to his chest and he leaned into her slowly. So slowly, she could do nothing but let him lean up against her until his mouth was at her ear._

_Her face blushed red and her breathing quickened as she felt his hot breath on her skin._

_"You…love…me?" His words were slow, almost as if they were forced. As if he didn't dare hope what she had said was true._

_"Yes, I love you! And even though you could never feel th"-_

_Her words were cut off as his lips were roughly shoved against hers. The cracked lips pushed at hers with so much hope and want that she was left speechless as they pulled apart again._

_"Winry…I-I…er…um…"_

_The usually confident teen stuttered as he tried desperately to put together a full sentence. His face was as red as hers, if not more. His head was bent low with his blonde bangs casting shadows over his tightly closed eyes. She reached out her arm and lifted his face up so that she could see his eyes._

_They sat staring at each other; no more words needed to be spoken. The two leaned in closer and their lips touched, softly and hesitantly at first, but growing stronger and rougher as their kiss deepened. Her arms encircled his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist._

_In the morning he and Al would leave to do something that very well might end both their lives, but right now, none of that mattered to them._

**o-o-o-o**

The memory ended too soon in her opinion, as she wished that night could have just continued on forever. But it had come to an end, in the way that all good things do eventually.

It had been nine months since that day, and she had not seen Edward once since the morning he left with Al. It was almost as if the Fullmetal Alchemist had just disappeared.

Alphonse had been found, malnourished with long unruly hair and no memory of the brothers' confrontation with the homunculi. Everyone knew Edward would never hesitate to return his brother's body, even if the equivalent exchange was his own life.

Edward was gone, something all of them had been forced to accept and live with, even Alphonse and herself.

And now, in her arms she held a newborn child, Allen Edward Rockbell.

The son of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

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**A/N: **_Well, this was an idea that randomly popped into my head. Actually, I can't see Winry getting pregnant at 16, but it had to happen for the sake of this fanfic. This is my first shot at a continuous story, so please review to help me improve. I have a picture of Allen, and soon I will have a link so you all can see it. Anyway, this changes this end of the anime a little. Alphonse has his 15 year old body, and all of his memories except for the day they fought the homunculi. Mustang killed Pride, and all the others are gone too. And Ed is still stuck in our world._


	2. Introductions

**A/N: **_Sorry, sorry, so so so so sorry! This should have been updated a while ago. I'm sorry to anyone who was actually waiting for this next chapter, but some stuff came up, and then I couldn't figure out how to get it started...and yeah....I kept putting it off. I finally forced myself to type up this chapter._

_So, some warnings before hand. 1) I didn't fiddle around with it too much, so its still pretty much in its orginal form. 2) This chapter is mainly to introduce the new characters. There are still some to introduce, for instance Alex's brothers, but yeah....this was just to introduce the characters so is kind of boring and not that well written in my opinion. At least not as good as my other stories and stuff._

_I will try very hard to get the next part out here soon. But I can't promise anything. I HAVE FINALS!! ARGH! Anyway, read, enjoy, review._

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**o-o-o-o**

**Chapter One: Introductions**

**o-o-o-o**

She had her target in sight. In her hands she clutched a small hand pistol, loaded and ready.

_**Bang!**_

The fourteen year old cursed as she realized she hadn't even hit the dummy a few meters in front of her. A whistle rang out behind her, and she stiffened.

"Wow. Is it just me or has your aim gotten worse since last week, Alex?"

She gasped at the familiar voice and spun around to face the figure leaning in the door way of the firing range. The figure proved to be a blue-eyed teenage boy with his shoulder-length dirty blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. His long bangs framed his face currently set in a cocky smirk.

"Allen! I nearly had a heart attack!"

Allen's face changed to one of mock fear. "Oh no! Then the General would kill me!"

Alex rolled her eyes at her friend's melodramatic response and replied, "Oh please, my dad's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Are you kidding?! I'd be flambéed!"

"Nah, I'm not that lucky," she replied seriously as she began removing the bullets from the gun. She gasped suddenly as she felt Allen brush up against her arm. Blushing a light shade of pink, Alex dared a glance at him to see he was scrutinizing the target she had failed to hit.

"No seriously," he began. "I think you **have** gotten worse." He received a hard whack to the arm in reply as Alex walked away from him, fuming all the while. "Ah, sorry."

She ignored him for a moment, before saying, "How was Risembool?"

"Boring," Allen replied simply, turning away from the target to look at his friend. Alex Marie Mustang was the third child, and only daughter, of Roy and Riza Mustang.

She resembled her father, and if not for the fact that she was female, she would have looked just like him. She wasn't one for girly things (seeing as the only other female in the family was Riza) and had cut her dark black hair into a boy cut. The cut was a styled a little more femalely, but pretty much looked like her father's hair. As well, she also had his onyx eyes.

Although, she had her mother's shape and good looks.

Her brothers were the ones who resembled their mother.

Allen himself was pretty much a mix of both his parents; he looked a lot like his father in the face and body shape, but his eyes were the bright blue shade his mother had. His hair was not pure blonde like had been expected, but more of a dirty blonde/light brown mix.

His mother had once said that his brown hair came from his Grandmother Trisha. Allen had let his hair grown longer than his mother had first wanted, but made sure never to pull it into the braid so notably his father's style, and instead always kept it in a low ponytail, the long bangs sweeping sideways over his left eye and hanging in uneven sized stands.

"How could it be boring?"

"It just was. It was the countryside, nothing but fields and farms and cows and sheep and grass. Boring," Allen sighed.

"But your grandmother was there, right?" He nodded. "So weren't you glad to see her?" Again, he nodded. "And I mean, it's were both your parents grew up, I think that would be interesting to see."

The boy shrugged. "But once you have grown up in a bustling city like Central all your life, country life is way too simple. There's no excitement."

"Oh please. You haven't grown up in Central all your life."

Allen laughed. "Since I was four. That's been twelve years, I'm pretty sure it counts. I hardly even remember growing up in Risembool." He glanced at her as she put the gun away. "Hey, you wanna head out with me? I was about to go grab some lunch."

Either he didn't notice the light blush that rose on her cheeks once more, or he didn't mention it. Alex nodded and Allen started out the door.

Alex had been practicing her aim in the military shooting ranges; she was allowed to be there because both her parents were in the military, her father a general and her mother a colonel. Allen was allowed to come and go through Central Headquarters both because of who his father was and because he was so close with the Mustangs and a lot of the other soldiers.

"Oh!" Alex exclaimed, throwing a hand into the air in a sign of remembrance. "I need to go tell Mom." She immediately took off down one of the halls, knowing by memory where she was going, while Allen attempted to keep up.

After a few moments, the two entered into an office, while the people inside looked up in surprise. "Mom!" The blonde woman glanced up from the paper she was signing. "I'm heading out with Allen to town." Riza nodded and went back to signing.

Another of the soldiers, however, decided not to end the conversation there. The blonde man stood and walked over to the sixteen year old, patting him on the back and chuckling. "Take care of her, kid, if you know what I mean." Wit that said he gave Allen a knowing look.

Allen sputtered, blushing, and Alex did the same while the others in the office laughed at the teens' reactions. "S-shut up, Havoc!" Allen finally managed to say, stepping away from him, grabbing Alex and rushing out the door.

Roy stepped into the office after the two left, glancing behind him at the leaving teens and holding a stack of papers in his hands. Without saying anything, he simply pointed a finger behind him whit a questioning look.

"Watch out, Chief, one day those two will be together," Havoc said, laughing.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that……" Roy muttered, taking a seat in his desk.

Havoc chuckled. "I wonder what Boss would say if he knew his son had a little thing for **your** daughter."

**-o-o-o-o-**

Allen and Alex walked through the bustling Central City, quite used to the hustle and bustle of countless bodies rushing to and fro. With a shout, Alex pointed out a café across the street and the two hurried into it. A waitress ushered them to an empty booth and the two sat down, picking up their menus.

"Can't wait for tomorrow, huh?"

Allen glanced up at her. "What?"

She sighed, shaking her head slightly as she continued, "Your **birthday**, moron."

"….oh yeah."

"Oh come on, Allen. Can't you be a little more excited? It's your **seventeenth** birthday."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so?" Alex sighed, deciding to just let it go. Besides, he was going to get an awesome party tomorrow, no matter what his opinion of the matter was. She, and countless others, would make sure of it.

The two ordered, and ate. There was comfortable conversation the entire time, about random things, and soon they were finished and ready to leave. Allen said he needed to check in with his mom about something, and they headed off towards his house.

"Mom?" Allen asked, stepping into the house, Alex followed along behind him. There was a crashing noise, and the boy winced. That didn't sound good. "….Mom?"

A moment later a blonde woman was rushing towards him, her arms wrapped around a large bag that carried who-knew-what. Her long blonde hair was falling out of the clip it was pulled back in, and she looked somewhat frazzled. "ALLEN!"

He jumped in surprise as his mother stopped inches in front of him, and Alex took a step back from them. "…uh…yeah?"

"Watch Nina would you?" Nina was Allen's six year old cousin. When Allen was eight, his uncle Alphonse had married a young woman named Clause. Apparently, they had met before when Alphonse was eleven he met the young tomboy during the journey for the Philosopher's Stone. The two had met again six years after Alphonse's body was returned and Edward had disappeared and had ended up marrying each other.

Allen had always felt there was some story behind his little cousin's name, but Alphonse never mentioned it, and the one time he had asked, his uncle had appeared so sad that he immediately dropped it.

Allen raised an eyebrow at his mother. "Why do I have to watch her?"

His mother sighed heavily. "Because Alphonse is on a state alchemist mission, Clause has something she has to do, and I have to go take this order to a customer. She's in the kitchen doing a puzzle, and now, I have to go!" With that, she pushed past them and ran out the door.

"Wow…." Alex muttered, and Allen turned to give her a questioning look. "It must be hard to be a state alchemist, all those missions all the time." She turned to look at him. "My dad's a general, so he pretty much stays at Headquarters unless there is some special mission or assignment for him, but your uncle travels a lot doesn't he?"

Allen nodded, realizing he had never thought about it before. He knew his father had been a state alchemist, and had traveled all over the place. His uncle had joined the military at age twenty, so Allen had pretty much gotten used to it.

Alphonse would come to visit his mother and him as much as he could, bringing Clause and Nina with him, and Allen had never thought about how much his uncle really did travel. He shrugged finally, starting towards the kitchen.

A small girl sat at the table fitting puzzle pieces into place; her light brown eyes were narrowed with concentration, and her long brown hair was pulled back into a braid, her bangs falling across her forehead and covering her eyebrows.

Allen snuck up behind her, and without warning picked her up and twirled her around as she shrieked in surprise. Catching sight of him, she began to laugh, Allen joining in along with Alex. "Allen!"

"Hey, squirt!" he laughed as he pulled her up onto his shoulders.

"I'm not a squirt!" she insisted stubbornly.

"And I'm not a genius," Allen replied, rolling his eyes.

Behind him, Alex muttered, "You **aren't**."

**o-o-o-o**

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**A/N:**_ Eheh....horrible way to end it, I know.....but I wanted to end it and get it up here quickly....so sorry about that. More information coming soon, please tell me if anything is confusing or hard to understand._

_PLEASE REVIEW! I won't know how I did if you don't review!_


	3. Pocket Watch

**A/N:** _Wow, I got this out pretty quickly. Today was my school's first day of finals, but I didn't have any so I just stayed home and studied. But after a while I got sick of studying so I took a break and typed up this chapter. I actually do have an idea how this is going to turn out.......so hopefully this will get updated somewhat frequently. Ummmm....please read and enjoy and review. That's a big one, don't forget that one._

_I'm excited though, because the twins get introduced in this chapter. Yeah! I love the twins! Unfortunately, they don't play a major part, and will only come in every once in a while when I experiance Twin Withdrawl. Also **sens** are the currency in Amestris, in case you didn't know. I know it was mentioned in the manga but I don't think it was ever stated in the anime._

_I'm sure sens are more like yen than dollars, but I don't really know the yen-dollar exchange rate, so I pretended they were the same amount as dollars. So, when seventy-five sens is mentioned, think of it as seventy-five dollars. Thanks, please review!_

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Chapter Two: Pocket Watch

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Arriving on his front porch after visiting the public library, Allen went to unlock the front door and was surprised to find it was open. Hadn't his mom said she had another customer to visit tonight? Was she home already?

Deciding he shouldn't let it bother him too much (if there was a robber in the house he would deal with it) after shifting the library books in his arms he opened the door and stepped into the dark house. He didn't see any lights on, and suddenly he realized there just **might** be a robber in the house.

Carefully, as not to make a sound, he walked forward slowly, his hand trailing along the wall to know where he was going. He entered what he figured had to be the kitchen, unless his sense of direction had become very screwed up as of late, and looked around.

"SURPRISE!!!" He was **very** surprised, and stumbled backwards when the light turned on abruptly and many figures jumped out from behind whatever they had been hiding behind. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

Oh…..yeah…..He realized. Today was his birthday. His seventeenth to be exact. And it appeared that about everyone he knew had decided to gather in the Rockbell home to help him celebrate it. That definitely explained why Winry had all but chased him out the door with a golf club earlier that day.

He saw the Mustang family: The General smirking at Allen's current position on the ground, the books scattered around him. Riza smiling warmly at him with her calm expression and Black Hayate at her feet. The twins, Maes and Aidan laughing at his stumble and Alex holding a small gift with an **huge **bow.

Near them stood Izumi Curtis, the woman who had taught him basic fighting skills, her husband Sig standing silently next to her, a gentle smile on his face, and Mason grinning widely next to Sig.

Granny Pinako was there as well although he had just left her house in Risembool two days ago, Den standing dutiful at the old woman's feet.

Mustang's office was also there. Jean Havoc stood smiling at him, his ever-present cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth and his arm wrapped over the shoulders of his three-month ('Almost four months now,' he would say) girlfriend, Maria Ross.

Denny Brosh, who had finally come to terms with the relationship of Jean and his longtime crush Maria, stood next to them with a strange looking hat sitting on his light brown hair.

Kain Fuery stood close to Sheska, whose large glasses appeared ready to slip off of her nose, and Allen could only guess they had something going on between them. The package Sheska held suspiciously resembled a book.

Barely fitting into the room stood the bulking mass of muscles known as Armstrong; his eyes were tearing up, and he was surrounded by his characteristic pink sparkles. Allen could only pray that he would neither break down into tears nor grab him into a bone-crushing hug. Rose Tomas, a friend of both his mother and his uncle, appeared very small next to the huge man, and her eighteen year old son stood silently in-between them.

Vato Falman was there as well, along with Heymans Breada who was attempting to stay as far away from the two dogs as he possibly could.

Off course, there was also his mother, Winry, her long blonde hair down for once, and her bright blue eyes full of pride. Next to her stood the familiar form of his Uncle Alphonse, his right arm around the waist of his brown-haired wife and his left hand resting on the shoulder of his daughter, Nina.

Allen stared at them for a moment, a smile threatening to break across his face, before he frowned instead. The others stared at him with worry for a moment, as he stood and gathered up his fallen books with a scowl. Turning towards him he sighed and said, "I thought I said no party."

Alex frowned. "Right, Allen. Cause we're really just going to let you get away with no celebration for your birthday," she muttered sarcastically.

Allen's blue eyes glanced over at his mother. "You could have at least not gone overboard with the decorations." Every inch of the room was covered with streamers. There were blue and red balloons hanging off **everything**, and a large banner was hung across the ceiling that read 'Happy Birthday Allen!'

Winry smiled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of her head. Maybe she _had_ done a bit too much. Finally, Allen smiled, and the rest of the room cheered. Sighing, he shook his head and placed his books on the kitchen table, almost unable to find a place in-between all the presents.

"ALLEN!" He turned and looked down to see Nina smiling up at him, her face almost hidden by the large red present she held. "Open mine, open mine!" Her older cousin laughed at her, and took the present from her hands. Slowly, for dramatic effect, he tore off the wrapping paper.

The paper was removed to reveal a framed picture that he could only guess was supposed to be a drawing of himself. It was done with many different colored crayons, and Nina's sloppy writing spelled out her name in the left-hand corner.

The artist held her breath as he scrutinized it. Finally he smiled widely at her. "Love it, Nina! Thanks!" Her brown hair flew out behind her as she tackled him into a hug, and he almost dropped the new gift.

The gifts were given one by one, each giver receiving a heartfelt thanks from Allen.

Sheska had indeed brought him a book; hundreds of pages on the history of Amestris. He tried not to grimace as he thanked her and set it on the table.

Fuery had given him a radio that he had apparently built himself out of spare parts. A little scared, Allen turned the knob. But instead of exploding, it did indeed begin playing music.

Havoc's gift was next. As a joke he first handed the teen a pack of cigarettes, and was almost murdered by a very angry mother and a glaring Izumi. Laughing nervously, he handed Allen the **real** gift. Which happened to be an envelope full of seventy-five sens. Allen accepted that gift very eagerly.

Maria Ross gave him a book on Military tactics, and he noticed his mother looked a bit uncomfortable.

Next, he received a long lecture about 'traits passed down the Armstrong line for generations' from none other that Armstrong. Vato gave him another book on history, though this one about other countries, and he was a little more excited to read this one.

And automail book from Pinako, money from Mason and Sig, a wristwatch from Rose and her son, a ball cap from Denny, and a book on past wars from Riza.

His uncle and Clause gave him a stack of books on alchemy, that lit his face up with a huge smile immediately; Izumi handed him another alchemy book, and a bump on the head as well. (Lightly of course…kind of....)

He thanked Izumi as he began flipping through the book, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "You have your father's love for alchemy," she said, smiling.

Allen grinned at her, and then turned to face all the guests. "Wanna see something cool?" He received some nods, and he pulled four small stones out of his pocket. Without warning he tossed them into the air, and held out his right hand. The stones hurriedly approached the ground, before suddenly they halted their descent about a foot from his hand, hovering above his open palm.

He flicked a finger, and the stones spun in a circle. He heard Izumi chuckle. "Impressive." Allen let the stones drop, and he caught them in his hand, glancing up at the smiling and impressed faces watching him.

"Nice, huh, General?"

Roy nodded, and smirked. "One day, you will be known as the _Pebble Alchemist._" Allen frowned, earning a laugh from the General. "No, really. How did you do that?"

Allen smiled, excited to tell someone of his alchemy talents. "I made the air below the stones very dense, so that they sat on top the dense air, unable to move any farther down. I can slow things down by making the air denser, but it's harder to completely stop something. It has to be very small."

Alphonse, Roy, and Izumi nodded, as the others pretended they understood what was going on. "And the circle? How did you manage to bypass that?" Izumi asked tensely.

"I didn't," Allen replied, turning to her. He pulled up the sleeve covering his right wrist to reveal a metal bracelet. The bracelet was in fact a detailed and intricate transmutation circle crafted out of metal, one he had come up with on his own to use his original styled alchemy. The circle was bent so that it comfortably fit around his wrist like a bracelet, and was hard to remove. Which didn't bother him, because he wore it constantly.

Roy smirked, raising a hand to his chin. "Interesting….." Izumi chuckled and Alphonse laughed. "You're Fullmetal's son alright." Allen's eyes narrowed slightly, as his smile morphed into a scowl.

Breda decided to change the topic and handed him a dog muzzle, and Allen looked at him curiously for a moment. But Breda didn't say anything, so he just mumbled out a confused thanks.

When he got to the twins, he was more than a little afraid to open the green box they handed him. The others in the room raised an eyebrow, and a few of them took a step back. The twins were known for their mischievous nature, their pranks and their jokes.

Slowly, as if it would explode any moment (which knowing Maes and Aidan it very well **might**) he removed the large silver bow.

Sighing at his hesitation, Maes muttered, "It's not going to _explode_ you know."

The twins, although they were identical, were pretty easy to tell apart, simply because they had their hair done in different styles. Maes, the oldest of the two, had shorter blonde hair styled so that the ends stuck out on the sides of his head and curled up slightly, while Aidan's was shaggier, wild, and unruly, with bangs falling over his dark-brown eyes. They were sixteen, almost exactly a year younger than Allen.

Aidan was a little easier to deal with, as Maes was pretty much the brains of all their hair-brained schemes. The younger brother was just usually forced to make all the inventions and whatnot, seeing as he was the one good with machines.

Carefully, Allen removed the box lid and the next thing he knew he was covered in blue paint. Hearing the twins' loud laughter, he stared into the blue-coated box where some strange looking invention sat looking innocent. There were more chuckles, and when he looked up everyone in the room (except him) erupted into laughter.

Finally, he joined in as well, but then glared at the two troublemakers. "How the hell did you do that?"

Aidan answered in-between laughs. "See that thing there? I made it so that it would be triggered to release the paint when you lifted off the lid."

"Genius, no?" the two blondes asked in unison.

"No," the older teen deadpanned.

Alex laughed, and stepped forward, handing him a rag. He gladly accepted it, and when he removed it from wiping the blue paint off his face as best as he could, there was a small box sitting in front of him.

Fighting down a blush, he opened it. Blinking in surprise, he stared at the two…..necklaces?

"Umm…" Allen glanced up at a flustered looking Alex. "This one," she pointed at one. "Is mine….and that one is yours." He raised his eyebrow and she explained better. She pulled one out. It was a brown leather strip with a metal star hanging off it. "Here."

Walking behind him, she wrapped it around his neck and did the clasp. Pulling the other one out, that was pretty much identical except that the star was gold instead of silver, she pulled it over her own head.

"Friendship…necklaces?" Allen asked with a raised eyebrow. She nodded, blushing more, and pulled her father forward.

"Dad has something to give you too!" Alex insisted, taking the attention away from herself as the others in the room chuckled.

Roy smirked at both his daughter and the light blush painted across Allen's cheeks (or at least what was visible through the remaining blue paint) and pulled something out of his pocket.

It was tossed through the air, and Allen caught it easily, pulling it in front of his face to look at it. The present was a rusted pocket watch with various dents…..and were those blood stains? Looking at it closer, he recognized the Military symbol beautifully crafted into the silver metal, and he realized at once that this was a state alchemist pocket watch.

His mouth opening and closing many times, he looked like a goldfish as he gaped up at the older man, who simply smiled.

"It was your father's." The room suddenly took on a sadder mood, as those who knew Edward Elric smiled sadly, and Allen suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Mumbling out his thanks, he stuffed the watch into his pocket. Changing the mood, Winry stepped in front of Roy, smiled a strained smile and said, "Now for **my** present!"

Turning, she ran to another room, and there was barking heard as she reentered. In her arms was a German Shepard puppy, its tail wagging faster than Allen thought was possible. Smiling widely, he ran forward, and suddenly Breda's gift made a lot more sense.

Taking the excited puppy into his arms, he laughed when the small dog began licking his cheeks.

"What are-" Maes began, as the twins looked over his shoulder.

"-you going-" Aidan continued.

"-to name it?" they finished together.

"………"

"How about Small-fry?" Roy offered, and Allen shook his head.

"I don't think that's going to fit too well when he's older," he laughed, and went back to staring at the dog. He checked quickly, to find that the puppy was a male.

"…..Lieutenant?" The room turned to glance at Alphonse, who was looking at the dog in concentration. Then he laughed. "I'm sorry, that's not a very good name."

Allen shook his head, laughing. "Nah, I like it." Glancing back at the dog he said, "Lieutenant. That's your name, okay?"

The puppy simply licked his owner's face in reply, and Allen took that as a 'yes.'

**o-o-o-o**

The party continued. Dinner was served, with cake afterwards, and the guests split up to form several different (and loud) conversations.

At some point, Alex and Allen walked into the living room to see Alphonse lazing about on the couch with Nina on his knee. "Hey Mr. Elric!" Alex called, and Alphonse glanced up.

"Alex, don't be so formal. Just Al," he chuckled, smiling warmly.

Alex nodded, and slumped down into a chair across from him. "Al, can you tell us some of those cool stories?" Allen, at once understanding what she meant, appeared uncomfortable at the request; he shuffled his feet, but otherwise remained silent.

Alphonse raised an eyebrow. "Cool stories?"

"Like the ones about you and your brother's journey to get the Philosopher Stone." Alphonse smiled, nodding, and Nina and Alex both cheered.

"Not without us!" Two voiced rang out as the identical blondes rushed into the room and sat on the arms of the chair Alex sat in. Grumbling, she pushed Maes off, and he fell to the floor where he stayed.

Alphonse began, and the five listened intently. All throughout the tale, Allen sat uncomfortably, a slight grimace on his face as he listened to the adventures of his _great_ father.

"….and after the death of Sloth, we headed to defeat the rest of the homunculi and their leader, Dante."

"What happened after that?" Aidan asked.

The older man's face looked strained as he replied, "Unfortunately, I don't know. That's where my memories get fuzzy. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the large ballroom of a mansion under Central City."

"Under Central?!"

Al nodded. "Edward was no where in sight, and neither were the homunculi or Dante. I was alone, except for Rose, who couldn't remember anything past Liore. I passed out shortly after waking up and seeing Rose, and woke up again later in the hospitol where I stayed for quite some time because I was so malnourished. Your father was there as well, because of the injury he received when killing Pride."

Maes nodded. "Yeah, he lost his eye that way."

"That would be so…..hard," Alex replied, frowning. "Not knowing the whereabouts of your brother." Alphonse smiled sadly and Allen took this opportunity to exit the room.

"Where are you going?" He turned to give the others a smile.

"It's such a nice night I'm going to head outside for a bit."

With that, he left the house, taking a seat on the steps of the back porch, staring out at his empty yard.

Pulling out his father's pocket watch, he placed his finger through the loop on the end of the chain, and began twirling the watch absentmindedly as he stared onward with an emotionless face.

Unknown to him, Alex stood in the doorway, watching him. Hesitantly, she walked towards the teen and sat down next to him. Blue eyes glanced at her, then returned to staring at the yard.

They were both quiet, the only sounds the _swish_ of the watch and the laughing of others inside the Rockbell residence. Alex opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and closed it again.

After of few minutes of awkward silence, something they weren't used to when they were together, the raven-haired girl spoke. "You must miss him, huh?"

The watch stopped its continuous cycle through the air, and Allen snorted.

"How can I miss someone I never knew?" Alex had no reply and the two stared out at the yard. The grass was suddenly _very_ interesting. "Edward Elric's watch…." Alex turned at the sound to see Allen staring at the watch in his hand.

With a soft smile she said, "Your father's watch."

Blue eyes narrowed, and the seventeen year old gripped the watch tighter as he grimaced. A look of disgust appeared on his features as he looked up at her.

"**No**." Anger and resentment dripped off his cold reply, leaving no room for argument. His friend flinched at the tone and leaned back away from him slightly. Allen seemed to not notice her discomfort and continued.

"He's not my father. I don't have one. There was no one to help raise me, take care of me, or look out for me. No one but me helped Mom make a living or comfort her when she cried. He doesn't even know I _exist_!" He stood suddenly, biting his lower lip to keep from shedding the stubborn tears that threatened to overflow.

"I don't want him, and he sure as hell doesn't want **me**!" His voice was rising and he was all but shouting now. "He's never coming back and I frickin' **hate** him!" Enraged, he threw the watch as far as he possibly could. He jumped off the porch as it flew into a bush on the other end of the yard.

"Allen!" The voice was his mother's, and he figured that she had heard everything. Along will all the others in the house. _'Great'_ he thought.

Without turning he yelled, "I'm going for a walk!" and ran off down the street.

**o-o-o-o**

* * *

**A/N:**_ Sooo.....one, I am no science genius so the part about the air density and whatnot....yeah, probably impossible or at least very incorrect. Sorry about that._

_Two, someone said that Allen doesn't seem to hate Edward simply because he didn't call him 'that bastard.' Oh no, he still hates Edward, but not in the same way really that Edward hated Hohenhiem. Really, Hohenhiem left AFTER Edward knew him, so it was harder to deal with. (though there was a sad flash back between Trisha and Hohenhiem in the latest book released in the U.S. that made you sympathetic w/ Hohenhiem)_

_There are too many 'A' names!!!! Allen, Alex, Alphonse, Aidan (which was kind of random but I like it now) Armstrong (not to mention ALEX Armstrong)......oh, and yes.....the dog's name is kind of random__......Ah. I wondered how I was going to explain a bit more about exactly HOW the anime ending was changed, and I hope I did a good enough job explaining. Please tell me if I didn't._

_Please review. I won't know how I'm doing or how I need to improve if you don't tell me what you thought of it! And hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but I can't promise anything._


	4. Options

**A/N:** _Umm...sorry it took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but here's the next chapter. Yes it's kind of short (Edward: I am **NOT** short!!!) so, sorry about that. Just a little bit of a moment between Allen and Mustang. And yes, Edward will come in eventually, maybe.....two chapters......_

_I kind of have an idea for where I want this to go, but I still don't have it all figured out. So for the most part, I'm going to be coming up with it as I go. I have no idea what to do with the ending! AH! I was thinking about bringing Alfons Heidrich in, though it will be different from the movie a bit, depending on how much I end up changing, because I have a few different ideas. He might only be mentioned though, which saddens me because I liked him a lot. I do think Noa will end up being a big part though, so Noa haters, beware. This is your warning. I can assure you it will **NOT BE NOAxED!!!**_

_So anyway, please read and enjoy and comment and review!!! I really want to know what you think, and if you have any ideas for where I could go with this, please tell me. Also, if there are improvements I need to make on how I write, please, please, please tell me!_

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* * *

**

**o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Three: Options**

**o-o-o-o**

---

Central was cold in November, and suddenly Allen wished he had at least grabbed a coat. But he hadn't been thinking straight, and so now here he was, pacing angrily through a park in Central, rubbing his arms and his teeth chattering.

Sighing loudly, he sat down on a wooden bench, bringing his legs up close to his chest in an attempt to stay warm. Muttering out a few choice words, he laid his head on his knees and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

He wasn't quite too sure how long he waited there, while most people were warm inside their houses with their friends and family. He wasn't too sure how long he sat there, freezing and wishing he hadn't gotten so worked up and ruined his own party like that.

Allen wasn't too sure how long it took, but eventually, he heard footsteps behind him, and an irritated and familiar voice said, "Finally, I found you." Glancing behind him, he saw Roy Mustang walk up to him and take a seat beside the teen boy on the bench. He, apparently, had been smart enough to grab a coat.

"You know," the general said as he glanced at Allen. "Walking through Central freezing my ass of to find an angry teenaged boy is not how I wanted to spend my evening."

"Sorry for the inconvience," Allen muttered sarcastically, his breath forming small clouds of white. Roy chuckled, and leaned his head back, his gaze transferring from Allen to the starry sky. There was silence between the two for a few minutes, before Roy decided to speak again.

"What you said isn't true, you know." Allen glanced at him. "Actually, couldn't be farther from the truth."

The teen snorted, eyes narrowing. "He's not here though, is he?"

"No. He's not."

"Well see, that proves that he just left us. He didn't want to have anything to do with us." Allen nearly jumped when a hand rested on his shoulder. He returned his gaze to the man beside him to see Roy frowning.

"If you knew your father you would see how stupid that claim is. He would never want to leave your mother, and he would **never** simply leave Alphonse for no reason at all."

Allen sighed, his breath creating more white clouds; turning away from the general he replied, "I don't get you guys. My mother especially." Roy raised an eyebrow as Allen continued. "You all insist that he would never leave for no reason, but you refuse to even think that he might be dead."

"You say that as if those are the only two options."

Allen jumped up off the bench, kicking at the snow angrily. "That's because they are! He's either a heartless bastard or he's dead! There **are** no other options, and since he _can't_ be dead, like you all claim, that means he just left without giving a rat's ass about any of us!

Roy sighed heavily. This conversation wasn't going anywhere. "Believe me, Allen." The boy didn't turn to look at him. "Edward Elric – as much as it would have killed me to admit it to his face – was a great kid, well on his way to becoming a great man. I'm not saying he was this perfect person, there were quite a lot of things wrong with him: he didn't respect superiours, he didn't listen to authority, he was prideful and full of himself, he rushed into things without considering consequences, and he was immature. But he was selfless, and loved his brother and his friends more than he cared for himself."

Allen didn't realize Roy had moved until he felt a hand rest on his head, ruffling up his hair. "If you knew him, you'd understand why I admired him."

"A-admired him?!" Allen glanced up at him, blue eyes wide, and Roy nodded in reply, before walking off towards the direction of the Rockbell home. He said nothing more of the matter, and after a moment of hesitation, Allen ran to catch up with him. He _was_ cold afterall.

"You know, General," Allen said after a few minutes of walking. Roy grunted, and waited for him to continue. "You're about the closest thing to a father I have." The miliatry officer stopped for a moment, slight shock apparent on his features, before he started again, chuckling slightly.

"Fullmetal would hate to hear that." It was meant as a joke, but Allen scowled and quietly muttered something in reply that the older man heard anyway.

"I don't give a damn what he thinks."

Because he wasn't expecting an answer, he jumped slightly when Roy laughed. "You are a lot like him, no matter how much you hate to admit it."


	5. Repeat

_Hey all you faithful readers, I'm sorry. I meant to update earlier, but one thing after the other.....and it never happened. I was hoping this chapter would turn out to be longer, but......It's kind of short. Sorry. I'm finally getting to the plot twist! YAY! Edo should be coming in soon, so just wait!_

_Thank you to all my reviews: __**Orange Singer, DemonRaily, Skitty Kat Girl, ForeverForgotten5, **and anyone who reviewed for previous chapters!_

_**Disclaimer: **No....I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Surprised? I do, however, own Allen Rockbell, Alex and Aidan and Maes Mustang, Nina Elric......and I think that's it....and this plot. I do own that._

_

* * *

_

**o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Four: Repeat**

**o-o-o-o**

**---**

The rest of the week passed without much excitement. Allen helped his mom with automail repairs and delivering items, and occasionally stopped in at military headquarters to watch Alex's attempts at improving her horrible sharp shooting skills.

The twins came over once to practice alchemy with Allen, and Alex tagged along as well. While they didn't have the gift that he had (certainly not as great as his father, of course) they still were able to successfully use many transmutation circles, but complained when Allen outdid them.

Alex had watched the boys for a while, commenting and grasping any chance that allowed her to make fun of the boys, before deciding to try some alchemy of her own. Her attempts ended horribly, and all four of the teens ended up with singed clothes and hair. The twins each gave her murderous glares while Allen laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. It was agreed that she wasn't allowed to try again.

Besides that, there was really nothing to comment on, and when Allen woke up on Friday, one week after his birthday, he figured it would be the same boring day. He was up early – he had always been an early-bird, the exact opposite of his mother – and had been making himself breakfast when the phone rang.

Picking it up, he answered, while also trying to flip a pancake single-handedly.

"Hello? Rockbell residence."

"_Hey, Allen."_

Allen smiled, before frowning when the pancake ended up on the ground. "Hey, General, what's up? You owe me a pancake."

"_A pancake?"_

"Yeah. To make up for the one that just ended up on the floor thanks to your call."

Roy chuckled before answering Allen's earlier question. _"We were just about to head over to an investigation. An alchemist disappeared in his home, and my office and I are heading over to check it out. I was wondering if you would like to join us."_

A wide smile stretched across Allen's face, and the pancake he had been trying to clean up was forgotten at once. "Yeah! Of course I'd like to come! I'll just go ask my mom, hold on!'

Allen dashed over to Winry's room, throwing the door open and successfully waking her up. "Allen…," the woman muttered, glaring angrily at her son. "What is it?"

Allen, quite used to his mother's temper, smiled as he said, "General wants to me to tag along to an investigation. Can I go?" Winry frowned, worried. "It's not a homicide, mom. Just a disappearance," Allen assured her, and she sighed heavily.

"Give me the phone." The teen did as he was told. "What is this about, Roy?" She pursed her lips together in a frown as she listened. "I don't want hi—No. I don't want him getting involved with the mili—I…look, I just…." Winry sighed heavily, listening to Roy's answer. "I trust you and Riza, and the others, I just—I….what would I do if….?" She glanced over at Allen who was watching her anxiously. He smiled, giving a thumbs-up, and only received another frown. "Alright. Yes. You better make sure he's safe. Bye." She hung up the phone, and looked at Allen. "Alright, you can go."

"Thanks Mom!"

"Be home by dinner, and be careful."

Allen rolled his eyes. "I got it."

"Roy said to head over to Headquarters. They'll wait for you." Allen nodded, and turned for the door. "Allen!" He looked over his shoulder to glance back at his frowning mother. "Just…" she muttered. "Come back home, please," she whispered; though she knew Roy wouldn't put her son in danger, she was terrified. Terrified that he would disappear, that he would be taken away from her just like Edward. Afraid that there would be a repeat.

Allen smiled, hoping to reassure her, understanding at once what was going on through her head. "Of course, Mom."

---

"Yeah…." Allen muttered, glancing around. "This place isn't creepy and ominous at all…" he added sarcastically.

Beside him, Roy and Havoc chuckled, while Riza had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. The four had just stepped into the abandoned house on the edge of Central; it looked like something out of a horror film, Allen decided. He had only ever seen two movies in his life; they would out a projector and a screen, and large crowds would come see it. One of the films he had seen had been a horror movie that he, the twins, and Alex had all gone to, and looking at the inside of the house he was reminded of that time.

The paint was peeling off the walls, and the little furniture that was there was broken. The walls were covered in transmutation circles and notes that had been scribbled down, and books littered the floor and stairs. Allen was half expecting some strange creature to pick them off one by one.

The inside of the house was completely different from what it looked like from the outside, where it appeared to be a normal house; luckily, though, it was a fairly small house, with only two floors, and they figured it wouldn't take too long to search. Riza and Havoc headed upstairs, while Roy started on the first floor, Allen tagging along behind him.

The teen scanned the walls with interest, not watching where he was going; his foot caught on a pile of books on the ground, and he tried to catch his balance, instead crashing into a book shelf against the wall. His arm scrapped against something sharp, and he hissed in pain.

"You okay?" Roy asked, glancing over at the teen rubbing his arm. Allen nodded, and Roy sighed. "Be more careful. Your mom will kill me if you get hurt."

"Yeah, yeah," Allen muttered, frowning when he saw that his arm was bleeding. It was a small cut, and nothing to be worried about however, but when he saw that it was a rusty piece of metal that had caused it, he made a mental note to wash it out when he got home. He didn't want it to get infected, especially since his mom would be even less willing to let him go to another investigation with the General.

Allen picked up one of the books and began skimming through it; it was a book on alchemy, with the owner's own comments scribbled all over the pages. Still holding onto it, he continued down through the hall. As Roy turned into what appeared to be the kitchen, a closed door at the end of the hall caught Allen's attention.

Curiously, he tried to open it, and found it to be locked. Setting the book down, he pulled a marker out of his pocket, and scribbled a simple transmutation circle on the doorknob. As he touched it, the circle lit up for a moment, before the doorknob clicked, and the door opened.

The room was dark, and Allen couldn't see anything in it. Stepping into it, he fumbled around on the wall before hitting a switch and the room lit up. It was entirely empty, more notes and marks decorating the wall. The only thing interesting about the room was a very large and detailed transmutation adorning the floor, stretching to all the corners and covering almost every inch of space.

Allen gasped, awed at once by the time and work that no doubt had been put into it. Something on the circle caught his attention, and after a moment he identified it as a large blood stain. "Hey, General, I think I found something!" he called, and he heard Roy call back that he was coming.

Glancing around, Allen made his way around the room; he could hear Roy's footsteps getting closer, and stared at the large transmutation circle intently. He couldn't make sense of it, and figured it would take hours – even days, maybe – to decipher it. Slowly, he stepped onto it, careful not to smudge it, as he studied it closely.

Allen walked slowly towards the center, muttering out calculations as he tried to understand it, unaware that the cut he had received earlier was still bleeding, the blood dripping down his arm. As Roy turned into the room – having the same reaction that Allen had had – a drop of blood dripped off of Allen's fingers, landing on the circle.

Suddenly, the circle lit up, and the room was bathed in eerie, blue light. Roy jumped back in surprise, letting out a loud shout, while Allen was temporarily blinded for a moment, and rubbed at his eyes to try to regain his sight.

There were loud footsteps running down the stairs, and Roy figured that Riza and Jean had heard him shout and were heading towards the room to see what had happened. The circle continued to glow, the light intensifying until a column of light stretched up to the ceiling from the outer edges of the circle. The light seemed to form a barrier around the shocked teen, until Roy and Allen couldn't see each other.

Overcoming his shock, Roy ran forward, calling out Allen's name as he tried to catch sight of him. "General, what the hell is-?!" Allen yelled out, trying to run through the wall of light, but was thrown back, landing hard on his back on the still glowing circle.

Suddenly, just as suddenly as it had started, the light disappeared, and Roy blinked for a moment to try and adjust to the darkened room. Jean and Riza rushed into the room, glancing around. "Where's Allen," Havoc asked as he caught his breath.

Roy's eyes widened, and his head shot up to look at the spot where Allen had been. "No….," he whispered, his eyes wide and his blood running cold.

Both Allen and the circle had disappeared, leaving only a large blood stain behind.

_.:Repeat:._


	6. The Gate

_I'm very, very sorry I didn't get this out sooner. It completely blew my mind, plus I kind of needed to figure out just where this story is going. I have the next chapter planned out though, so it should come quickly! Sorry for making everyone wait! I would like to reply to all of the reviews individually, but I'm not supposed to be on the computer right now, and I'm hurrying to get this chapter uploaded._

_So, I wrote this really quickly, just so I could get it out, so please forgive me if its not written the best. Tomorrow I'll have to come read through it and revise it a bit. Anyway, please enjoy!  
_

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* * *

o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Five: The Gate**

**o-o-o-o**

**---  
**

He didn't know when he first got there; he couldn't have been there forever, though, seeing as he had memories of another place. Still, he had no recollection of ever first arriving in the great expanse of nothingness. Not black, not white. Not light, not dark. Just nothingness, as far as the eye could see.

After standing, simply staring at the empty space in front of him, he finally made up his mind to walk forward. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he figured he would eventually find something if he continued to move.

It was if he went no where, simply walking in the same place for hours; the scenery around him never changed, but eventually his muscles began to ache and he stopped. Glancing around at his unchanged surroundings, he sat down slowly.

Sighing, the small sound dying quickly around him, he rubbed at his sore legs, wondering what he could possibly do to get somewhere. Anywhere really, as long as it was someplace different than where he currently was.

He ran through his memories, and frowned when he discovered they were faded and blurred, and though he could sometimes see smiling people and a different setting, he couldn't remember quite who or where those places and people were. It troubled him, and he sat, trying hard to remember who and what each thing in his scrambled memories was.

How long he sat, he couldn't be sure, as the scenery around him never shifted, and nothing ever changed. But eventually, sometime later, he had a feeling that there was someone near him, some other living thing with him in the great empty space.

Slowly, but for some reason not afraid in the least, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and discovered he had been right.

Sitting a little ways back from him, was a figure facing the other direction; he could see pale skin where its black clothing was not, and long, green hair hanging in clumps and falling down its back. As he watched, the figure looked over its shoulder to stare straight at him, and he could see violet eyes void of all emotion, similar to its face.

They stared at each other for a while, with no way to measure the passing of time they couldn't be sure how long it really was, both staring without emotion or recognition.

Until the violet eyes clouded over, and narrowed; following suit, the figure's face was painted over in rage, a sneer filled with reptile-like teeth stretching over its features. And still, he sat, watching as the figure stood, slumped over in wrath, tightly clenched fists shaking in barely contained fury.

And then the figure spoke.

"Elric." The animal like growl echoed around them, even though there were no walls in sight.

And finally, he was filled with dread, for he recognized that word at once; and soon, all of his blurred memories cleared, and Allen realized that he was in danger.

The creature, for he was quite sure it wasn't human, started towards him, growling as he did so.

"Elric," it spat again. "EDWARD ELRIC!!!!" Allen nearly fell over as he jumped to his feet, his ears aching at the incredible volume of the creature's roar. He attempted to shake his head, fear almost immobilizing him, as he tried to clear up the creature's misunderstanding. He would not be killed for something his father had done.

Without warning, the creature charged, screaming death threats and curses; Allen stumbled, falling hard on his back.

And just as suddenly as the creature had charged, it halted, only feet in front of the fallen boy, staring with wide, horror filled eyes at him. Or something behind him. The feeling that he had had earlier, returned, and he took a deep breath before turning his head to see what the creature was staring at.

And at once realized why it was so scared.

Two large double doors stood, towering high above him and appeared to fill the entire space. Strange writing covered it surface, and the mere presence of it was more threatening that anything Allen had ever seen, including the creature that had been intent on killing him seconds before.

He turned himself around completely, and slowly rose to his feet, still gazing in horror at the doors. _The Gate. _The knowledge supplied itself in his head.

"NO!" The screech made him jump, and he spun to see the creature almost to the point of foaming with rage, glaring at the Gate. "NO! I HAVE HIM!" Its eyes turned on him, and he once again was frozen in fear. This thing wanted to kill him, or his father, more than anything, and his only current condolence was the fact that the creature was too scared of the Gate to come any closer to him. Allen could understand why.

Something grabbed at his arm, pulling him back; he shot his head towards it to see a snakelike arm winding itself around his own arm, and then another around his leg. He began twisting himself, fighting violently against his inhuman attackers, as yet another wrapped around his middle; soon there were too many to count, all working to pull him back towards the Gate.

The creature in front of him stood mesmerized, watching Allen's desperate struggle, listening to his screams and yells, as if in a daze.

Twisting his head around to see the Gate behind him, Allen continued to fight and pull at the arms; the doors had opened now, the black arms spilling out of it like tentacles, and his breath hitched as he realized all he could see was black.

He was being pulled closer, closer, closer…..

….something different than the arms crashed into him, grabbing around his middle as he heard the creature cry out, "**I won't let you get away!**" and then….

….he was pulled into the pitch black darkness, and the gate doors closed behind him.

---

The abandoned, run-down house was crowded with people now, military personal all curious to know just how a sixteen year old boy had managed to disappear completely into thin air. The majority of them were state alchemists, all trying to pry information out of Roy. The transmutation circle had disappeared along with Allen, and all of them wanted to know just what it looked like, including Roy, who hadn't had the chance to study it before the transmutation had activated.

Roy answered as few questions as he could, wishing they would all leave as he was in no mood to deal with them; he hadn't wanted to tell anyone about what had happened yet and wasn't happy at all that people from headquarters had shown up.

Havoc had been the one who had let it slip when Fuery had given him a call. And what Fuery knew, a few back at headquarters had discovered. For as long as he had worked under Roy, Jean should have known better.

Roy couldn't bring himself to blame him though; Fuery had had the worst timing, calling almost seconds after Allen had disappeared, and all of them had been in such a state of shock that it was no wonder Havoc had let it slip in a stuttered panic.

So now, Allen was gone, the higher-ups knew, and Roy was all the more ready to burning something – or _someone_ – to a blackened crisp. Preferably the one who had drawn the circle in the first place. Roy figured he know had a pretty good idea what had happened to the previous owner of this house.

"This is going to kill Winry," he heard Riza whisper as she came to stand next to him. He had managed to escape the countless questions and watched as the other alchemists surveyed the circle-less floor. Roy bit the inside of his lip and clenched his hand into a fist, knowing she was right.

On his other side, he heard Havoc mutter, "She's not the only one."

The thing that bothered Roy the most – even more than the fact that someone he considered an adopted son had just disappeared in front of his very eyes – was the fact that Allen was too much like his father.


	7. Communication Errors

_Ahhhhhhh! Sorry that I haven't been able to update. This chapter has been sitting half finished for a week. I had meant to get it out sooner, when I realized I REALLY had to practice for my chorus auditions, which were tonight. Because of that and a lot of homework, I wasn't able to get it out until now. Sorry for the wait! And now I am going to try something new that will hopefully continue on for the whole story, personal replies to reviews!_

**obsidianlight: **Yes, that's for sure. Poor Roy, I do hope he makes it out alive. And, I'm glad you're looking forward to it, I am too! (Allen: **I'm **not.) Oh shush!

**fantasyangel7: **glad to hear there weren't many mistakes. I'm horrible with grammar and spelling anyway, so if I didn't have spell check on Word, it would have been a lot worse. I'm glad to hear it was well written, since that's something I try hard to do. AH! It is NOT easy writing about the gate at all! It's hard to imagine what it would be like there, and I always imagined it was like pure nothingness, so I tried getting that across in writing. And you'll just have to wait and see!

**foreverforgotten5: **So many questions! I would love to answer them, but like you said, they will be answered later! ;D Nothing short of dramatic, huh? Oh man, I hope it won't fail your expectations!

**inupupby5: **Ah, you see. This story COMPLETELY rewrites the end of the anime, and ignores the movie except for the parts I decide I'll keep. Therefore, the movie has not happened, and Envy was never transmuted into the gate.

**Shmexiicake: **Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your review meant a lot to me! That's exactly how I feel a lot of the times when searching fanfiction, and I'm honored you feel this story is among the well written out there. I am so glad to hear that my OCs are well written, because I trying so very hard not to turn them into Mary-Sues! I will try very hard not to let you down, and to update more!

To everyone else, **icechampion, linkin-link, xXXnightshadexXx, **and **OPFAN** thank you kindly for your reviews! Now read, enjoy, critique, and review! Again, I hurried to get this out, so if there are mistakes or badly worded areas, please tell me!

And I would like to add in, Edward WILL BE COMING IN NEXT CHAPTER!!! *parties*

Allen: (completely unenthusiastic) Yaaaaayy....

**

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o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Six: Communication Errors**

**o-o-o-o**

---

When had he fallen asleep? He couldn't recall…..

….what had he even been doing last? Had he been at home with his mother? Out with Alex or the twins? He couldn't think straight, his head muddled with wayward thoughts and haphazard tidbits of information. He saw his family and friends, things from years ago and things from recent weeks all scrambled together.

His head was pounding, and now that he thought about it, his entire body was sore; slowly he attempted to sit up, before falling once again against the cold, damp ground.

First things first, he decided: where was he? After a few minutes – or hours, maybe – with no answer, he attempted to open his eyes. Pain shot through his left eye, and he was suddenly aware of a throbbing on the left side of his face; immediately, he raised a hand to it, hissing in pain as his hand came in contact with some sort of sticky substance matting his hair and dripping down his neck.

Cursing and cringing in pain, he fought for a hand hold on the wall beside him with his free hand and attempted to stumble to his feet. His vision went bleary, and he fell hard against the ground once again, letting out a moan of agony.

He couldn't stay there, he knew that much; and so he tried again and again and again. All with the same results. Finally, he forced himself onto his knees, sore as they were, and crawled across the ground, using one hand to steady himself against the wall while the other stayed clutching the left side of his face. His vision was distorted and bleary and the stuff – blood? – dripping into his eye obstructed his view, but he was able to make out light a little ways from him. As he crawled closer to his exit, loud sounds reached him. They sounded familiar, something he had heard before, and he tried to figure out what the noises were as he crawled closer to them.

He reached the light and squinted as both his eyes and ears were assaulted; bright lights and shapes raced across his vision, but he was too disorientated to know what they were or even try to guess.

Taking a deep breath, he stood slowly, using both his hands to steady himself on the wall and pull himself up; although he swayed for a moment, he remained standing, and he started the trek towards the moving shapes, hoping one of them was a person who could help him.

A honking noise rung in his ears, rivaled by an even louder screeching of tires; spinning wildly to his left – and almost toppling over in the process – he watched as bright lights sped towards him, coming closer and closer until –

..

..

..

..

..

..

"¿_Estas bien?! Ah dias, por favor, dime que estas bien! Lo siento mucho!_

_Perdoname!" _

---

The first thought in Allen's head as he awoke was '_Mom! Shut off the alarm!'_ and yet, for some reason, he couldn't forced the five simple words – words he probably shouted at least once every month – through his dry mouth. The beeping noise continued with its steady beat, and the more he listened to it, the less it seemed like his mother's alarm clock.

Allen felt sore, and there was something itchy covering his body in various places – bandages of sort he guessed; he was lying in bed on his back, his eyes still tightly shut and his head stuffy.

Slowly, he blinked open his eyes; the left side of his face stung slightly, and remained in shadow, Allen unable to see anything except through his bleary right eye. As he blinked slowly, he took in a small, clean room and himself in what appeared to be a sort of medical bed.

Glancing at himself, he saw countless minor bruises and bandages; sitting for a moment staring at his bandaged arm, Allen attempted to remember just what had happened. Unfortunately, no answer came to mind; Allen suddenly noticed the soft sound of peaceful breathes off to his left.

He glanced over with out turning his head, before remembering there was something restricting his view; turning slowly as not to cause himself any pain, Allen took in the sight of a young woman sleeping in a chair near the wall.

She had some of the darkest skin he had ever seen, reminding him of the Ishballan people he had occasionally seen before; dark brown hair fell across her shoulders until her mid-back, while some of it was pulled into two long braids on either side of her face. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed peacefully. He realized she looked as if she wasn't much older than his mother.

As Allen continued to stare at her, she awoke, and slowly blinked her brown eyes at him. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet, staring at him with a look of horror distorting her beautiful features.

"Usted esta despierto!" she cried, while he blinked at her in confusion. "¿Como te va? Cuanto lo siento!" Her voice was both concerned and filled with guilt, and Allen was unable to make out a word of what she said. He felt he should reply somehow, as she seemed to be very worried about him, but he had no idea what to say; she seemed to be speaking a foreign language, one that he had never heard before.

And so, he continued to stare at her with a look of wonder on his face. She stared back at him for a few minutes, before breaking down into poorly held back sobs and collapsing once again upon the chair. "Usted no puede oír!," she moaned hopelessly, and Allen couldn't help but grimace at her apparent guilt. "Este es mi culpa….¿Qué he hecho?"

"Er…..," Allen muttered, and she looked up at him. "I'm umm….I'm alright…" She blinked at him, and he hoped he had gotten the point across. If not, how was he supposed to help her if he had no clue what she was saying?

"Al…righ…t," the woman copied his word, slowly and with a little difficulty, her voice heavy with an accent. After a moment, she seemed to understand what he was attempting to tell her, and she smiled softly. "Bien."

An awkward silence proceeded this, and Allen coughed uncomfortably to break it. Again, his first attempt at conversation was a very unintelligent mumble.

The woman smiled at him in her small, soft way again; pointing at herself, she said, "Noah." Allen simply raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was trying to say. Frowning slightly, she again said, "Noah" and pointed at herself. After a few more times of repeating this, Allen's blue eyes widened as he finally realized the woman was attempting to let him know her name.

Smiling, Allen replied by making the same gesture towards himself and saying, "Allen." Noah smiled widely, hopped up out of her seat and hurried towards his bedside, and extended her hand for a handshake. Allen winced slightly as he shook her hand, while Noah happily repeated "Allen" in a singsong voice.


	8. Maps

_Yay, next chapter out, and yay, it's longer! I would reply to all the reviews again, but I don't have time. I hardly had time to post this. Next week I have finals, which I should be spending all of my weekend studying for (not typing fanfiction) and right after finals, I leave for vacation for two weeks, during which, I probably won't have access to a computer. So, I didn't want to leave my dear readers hanging for that long, and hurried to write this chapter._

_So I'm sorry if it's not the best.....and I do hope it didn't fail all of your expectations. And I just recently realized...I suck at titling chapters...  
_

_**IMPORTANT NOTE:**_ _I changed something in the last chapter. It's nothing big....well, not a big change, but it does change things in the story. Basically, what Noah said and what language it was said it was changed, and she ended up speaking one language first, and then switching to another. So....go skim the previous chapter if you would like, but it's not a huge change._

_Sorry to all of you who understood the spanish and felt happy. I felt happy I was able to write. I am in Spanish...I'm not in German, so I had to use an online translator. So I apologize now if it's not entirely correct._

_Now I must be going. Like I said, it was rushed. So please correct any issues you see. Please review and give me feedback!  
_

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Seven: Maps**

**o-o-o-o**

----

Allen listened curiously as Noah and the doctor – if the white coat and gloves was anything to go by – conversed in their strange language outside his room, their words only audible because the door had been left slightly ajar.

They were speaking in the second language Noah had spoken, the one that seemed to be more familiar to him. He could catch a few words that sounded much like words from his own language: boy, health, stay…..and family, he believed, though it seemed to be pronounced a bit differently that he was used to. It was easy to tell they were talking about him, and he wished he could understand more about what was going on.

He had no clue where he was, why he couldn't understand the spoken words around him (and he hadn't tried to read yet, but he figured the written language would be foreign to him as well), or why he was so badly hurt. The teen had realized by now that he must have been hit with an automobile as he limped blindly into the busy street, but he also knew that he had been very badly hurt before then.

The pain was currently being held at bay with a multitude of painkillers, and seemed far off while his body was numb; Allen was grateful, because he knew that if he was sore now, without the medicine he would be in a lot of pain. The thing that bugged the blond the most was the fact that the left side of his face was feeling number than anything….and he could vaguely remember not being able to see out of that eye when he had first awoken in what he now guessed to have been some sort of backstreet or alleyway. Something had happened to his eye or face - one of the two, or maybe even both – and he wanted to know what it was.

Carefully and slowly, Allen lifted his hand to his face, tracing his fingers along the bandages. He looked up quickly as he heard footsteps entering the room, and watched as Noah walked in, smiling wearily at him. He wondered if she had been up for hours fretting over the unknown boy she had accidentally run into with her automobile.

She started to say something, paused and frowned, and began again in her other language before stopping mid-sentence once again. Allen could understand her dilemma; she apparently knew two languages – the first he guessed was her native tongue, as she had used that one immediately and instinctively, while he could guess that the second was the language spoken wherever he currently was – but he could understand neither of them.

He wished he could be some help because he appreciated her worry for him and wished he could assure her he was alright, but more than that, Allen wanted to know where he was, how he had gotten there, and how and how soon he could return back home.

"_Be home for dinner and be careful."_

His mother's words rang through his head, and he suddenly felt as if someone had punched him right in the gut. Hard. Knocking all the air from his lungs and keeping him temporarily unable to breathe more in.

He had disappeared, and had no doubt missed dinner by quite a few hours – if not days. He couldn't do this to his mother…..not after she had lost his father as well. Allen knew that as much hate he harbored for Edward Elric, his mother loved him, and had been torn apart when he had disappeared. (_'Moved on'_ a voice in his head whispered, even now.) It would _**destroy**_ her if he vanished too.

Suddenly, he was filled with even more vigor to return home and as soon as possible. Allen stared up at Noah, blue eyes blazing, intent on translating everything she was trying to tell him, in case it held some clue to returning home.

But she said nothing.

Instead, she only smiled at him, and walked towards him, rolling a wheelchair in front of her. Noah gestured at the chair, and Allen understood, standing slowly as she helped him into it. Then, when he was safely in the chair, she wheeled him out of his hospital room and down a hallway.

Allen wondered if she was taking him somewhere so that the doctors could perform surgery on him, and he shivered. Something about sharp, metal needles and scalpels cutting into his skin and flesh and muscle and bone….he shuddered again at the thought. Frankly, it freaked him out to no end.

But Noah didn't take him to another room where masked doctors were waiting, holding their needles menacingly; instead, she wheeled him out of the hospital all together and then out to the edge of the sidewalk. They waited for a moment, before an automobile pulled up to the curb, and Noah helped Allen into the back seat, folding the wheelchair and setting it beside him in the back, before seating herself in the passenger seat.

In the driver's seat was a tired looking man, who asked Noah something in his unfamiliar language, and Noah replied. As the automobile began to move, Allen pressed his face close to the glass, watching as the hospital left his sights and the green scenery rushed past his vision.

--

The woman wept, clutching the pocket watch to her chest as tears streaked her face; the man had left moments before, and she had been able to hold onto a semi-calm appearance until he had allowed her time to herself. It had been then that she had recovered the watch from the bushes, sat down in a chair, and lost it.

The smell of burning food reached her, but for the moment she didn't care.

_Be careful._

Why was that simple request of hers so hard to comprehend?

She choked on her own sobs, hiccupping to catch her breath again. The watch felt maliciously cold in her trembling hands, but she couldn't bring herself to put it down, to let it go, because at the moment, the watch was the only thing keeping her hoping.'

--

After a while of driving, the driver had finally stopped in front of a two-story, stone house. Noah had paid him and then taken Allen inside the house. She showed him around quickly, pointing out rooms and saying the names, or at least he figured she was telling him the names, before finally taking him upstairs to a clean room.

Allen sat on the bed, exhausted just from the trek around the house without his wheelchair, and glanced around at his surroundings. The room was a pale green, and relatively impersonal, leading the teen to believe it was a guestroom. It suddenly dawned on him that because he had been unable to properly converse with anyone, no one knew who he was or his family. Because of this, Noah had just volunteered to take him into her home until he could someone find his way back to his.

Allen felt extreme gratitude towards the smiling woman before him, knowing that he would be in much worse shape if she hadn't had the heart to help him. Wishing he could be positive she would understand, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Noah."

Fortunately, from the tone of his voice or the look on his face, she understood, and shook her head dismissively, before turning to leave. "Wait!" Allen called, and she complied, turning to look at him with an eyebrow raised. "Er…." He struggled to think of a way to make her understand. "Maps," he said, and raised his hands to hold and invisible map in the air. "Map."

She frowned, nodding, before leaving the room. Allen could only hope that she had understood.

After a few minutes, Noah reentered the room with some large papers in her arms. A smile lit up Allen's face as he recognized them as maps. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening downstairs was heard; Allen glanced at the door of the room, then at Noah. She smiled widely, a look of relief on her features, and handed him the maps before hurrying downstairs.

Allen took them gratefully, and picked the first one up to look at it. The language labeling the cities and towns was completely unfamiliar to him, and he stared at the paper in concern. The country didn't even look familiar to him. It wasn't Xing or Drachma, or any other country he had ever seen on a world map.

Sighing in frustration, he turned to the second map, and was dismayed to find the same results. He did notice however, that this writing was different than the other. Throwing the previous two maps to the side, he picked up the third and stared at what appeared to be a complete world map.

Allen began to panic.

The map looked like no map he had ever seen, the countries completely different and unfamiliar, the land and water completely alien to him. He had no clue where Amestris was on the map, after looking over it time and time again, he finally threw it to the floor with the others in disgust.

He had no clue where he was.

He had no idea how to get back home.

Allen buried his head in his hands, trying to calm himself down; he could hear footsteps entering the room, and knew at once that it wasn't Noah. The footsteps were much too loud for them to be her.

Slowly, he raised his head and gazed at the man before him.

He was perhaps only half a foot or so taller than Allen; he had brilliant, blond hair past his shoulders, pulled back into a ponytail with the uneven bangs falling loose to frame his face. He hadn't shaved in a little while, and blond whiskers lined his chin and jaw line.

The man's bright gold eyes stared into Allen's only visible one, both of them expressionless, surveying the other.

There was something about the man that was familiar, more familiar than anything Allen had encountered in the last few hours, and he tried hard to think of what it was. And suddenly, he recognized the similarities between this man and his uncle, and he thought back to many pictures he had seen.

True, this man was many years older than the boy in the photographs, but Allen was sure they were one and the same.

Allen suddenly felt sick as he put two and two together, hoping he was wrong and at the same time, wishing he was right. He was probably delusional. Or frantic and leaping to conclusions. No doubt he was most likely being absurd, and yet he still felt extremely uncomfortable. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he waited for the man to say something.

The man stared long and hard at him, silent, and finally Allen could wait no longer. He coughed awkwardly before muttering, "I guess this is your house, huh?" There was more silence then. The man stared at him, one eyebrow raised high, and a look of…..wonder, amazement, and panic in his eyes.

He frowned slowly, before replying, "You're from Amestris." It wasn't a question, but Allen nodded anyway. The man swore, sitting down in a chair leaned against the wall and stared back at the teen once again. "Damn, you're a long way from home, aren't you?"

Allen frowned, not even excited to finally find someone who understood him. "Where am I?" he asked, eager to know what the man's answer would be. But the man only shook his head.

"What's your name?" he asked instead.

"Allen." He decided not to say the rest, not his last name. In case this man really was…..Allen narrowed his eyes, gazing intently at the man as he asked, "And you?"

The man looked up at him, and Allen felt his blood run cold as the man answered, "Edward Elric."


	9. First Impressions

**Author's Note: **

_My gosh, it's been near five months since this story has had any attention, and I'm incredibly sorry about that. My summer vacation was packed full of things, and I never found a chance to actually update. Then school started and marching band season (and believe me, field shows, parades, and flag practice takes up most my life), and this story blew my mind. I love all of your great reviews, and I feel horrible for letting all of my readers down._

_As I promised, I was able to finally finish this story (though I rushed through it and will have to proofread it some other time) and managed to get it up on Wednesday. I'm sorry I couldn't make it very long, but at least I got it up. I will do my best to get updates fairly frequent, but please do remember I have a life as well. Or I could simply say: School + Marching Band + Homework = Life._

_Anyway, please, please, please leave great, long reviews telling me what I can improve and what you liked. If anything's wrong, please correct me. And for some reason, this chapter doesn't seem to flow well in my opinion.....Edward seems a bit off too...._

_Anyway, once again, I apologize for neglecting this story for so long. (Bye the way, to all the people who replied to my author's note, thank you for being understanding of my long break)_

- Little Patch of Heaven

**o-o-o-o**

**Chapter Eight: First Impressions**

**o-o-o-o**

Allen stared at Edward in silence, a mix of denial and horror twisting his facial features. Edward stared back, an eyebrow raised at the boy's response, waiting for Allen to speak. Allen said nothing, however; in fact, he continued to stare at Edward like that for a few minutes before Edward decided to start explaining.

"There is a place known as The Gate, which can be reached through forbidden acts of alchemy," he began, watching Allen for any change. The teen remained mute, without even acknowledging the fact that Edward had begun to speak; hoping the boy was listening to what he was saying, he continued. "There is no real way to define it, and even after many dealings with it, I still have no clue what it really is. At first, I believed it to be a place where deceased souls resided…." He paused, his mouth curling into a frown, before coughing slightly and carrying on.

"However, when someone from Amestris passes through The Gate, they find themselves here, in a completely different and parallel world. An alternate world somehow connected to our home world, with many of the same things and yet many different things too…" Edward trailed off, eyes gazing unseeing into space.

As if those words had awoken him from a trance, Allen glanced up at Edward, his eyes noticeably bigger and his mouth hanging open wide. Edward paused, and yet the teen remained silent. Edward continued, but he seemed to be talking more to himself now than explaining the situation to Allen.

"Alchemy doesn't work in this world. People here only know of it as a mythical, magical fairy-tale that never truly existed, not the science we know it as." If he had expected any further response for that piece of news, he was sadly disappointed. "Nothing I try works. No matter what equation I use, I can't reopen the gate; I've been here for almost seventeen years now and - "

Allen jumped, lunging at Edward with a clenched fist swinging wildly through the air. He probably would have given Edward a rather black eye had he not missed completely and tumbled off the side of the bed in a mess of limbs, bandages and sheets, the pillows following to land on his head.

Edward jumped back. "What the hell?!" The boy didn't reply, choosing instead to glare at the floor with hardly-contained loathing. Sighing irritably, Edward hoisted the teen into the air by his shirt collar, throwing him roughly back onto the bed where he had been moments before.

Allen let out a grunt of surprise and pain while Edward merely scowled before taking a seat in a chair set against the wall. As the young teen angrily rubbed his sore arm, Edward turned his chair to face the bed, still scowling. "Why the hell was your fist aiming at my face?" Edward asked as calmly as he could.

Allen refused to answer, looking instead in the opposite direction and staring intently at the wall across from him.

The silence stretched on, and the tension in the room soon became so heavy, Allen was quite sure that he would be able to hack through it with his mother's prized wrench.

There were so many thoughts tornado-ing through his head that he couldn't think straight; he had thought his head hurt before Edward came in, now it was torture.

This man was his _**father**_.

This man had abandoned him and his mother.

This man had……..been _stuck_ here - wherever _**here**_ was - for over seventeen years, and -

Allen massaged his temples irritably, Edward watching him with an raised eyebrow. Everything was so damn confusing, and out of habit, he automatically blamed it on the blond man sitting only feet away from him.

If what Edward had said was true - and Allen currently refused to believe that - it meant that everything he had ever thought of the man that birthed him, every ounce of hatred and loathing reserved for the man before him had been wrong, just as everyone he knew had always told him.

No. His blue eyes narrowed.

"Tried everything, huh?"

"Hmmmm…" Edward smirked. "So you're finally going to speak to me."

Allen turned on him. "Like _**hell**_ you tried everything. You're Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist! The youngest state alchemist ever, a frickin' GENIUS!" At Edward's surprised expression, he added, "I hear stories, I know things. I know you figured out more things than people three times your age. You opened the gate the first time, didn't you!? YOU COWARDLY LIAR! I bet you haven't tried ANYTHING!** You haven't even TRIED to get home!!!**"

Edward rose from his chair, clenching his teeth to keep himself calm. "Now listen here, _kid_, you don't know what the **hell** you're talking about. So shut. It. Now."

"_**HELL NO!**_" If Allen had been able to stand on his own, he would have jumped up so Edward wouldn't be towering over him like he was at the moment. "You know what, I'M NOT LIKE YOU! I **WANT** TO GO HOME! I have people I want to see again! I'M NOT GOING TO ABANDON THE PEOPLE WAITING FOR ME LIKE YOU DID!!!!" Allen breathed deeply, collecting his breath after his outburst. Edward simply glared at him, looking ready to send his automail fist flying into Allen's jaw.

The door swung open and both males whipped their heads around to see Noah burst into the room. She was panting, an apron around her waist and a spatula brandished like a weapon. Her brown eyes darted from Edward to Allen and back again.

"Was ist - ?" she began.

"Es ist nichts, Noah. Nicht sorgen," Edward replied, attempting to smile at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, smiled weakly at Allen, and turned to head back downstairs.

"Verdammen Sie dummes Kind," he mumbled before turning back towards Allen. "Look, _kid,_ you should know better than to accuse somebody of something you have no proof of. Didn't your dad ever teach you to pick your fights better?" Unfortunately that made Allen's mood worse - if that was even possible. Edward took a seat again, mentally counting to ten before continuing.

"Yes, I may have been called a genius before, but the truth is, more than half of the time I just lucked out. I already told you alchemy doesn't work in this world, and that's what's keeping me from reopening the Gate. I've tried, believe me. Everything. You think I don't have people I want to see? I have people I consider family back in Amestris; I have my best friend and my little brother back home. I haven't seen any of them for over seventeen years now, and you want to accuse me of not even trying to get back home, kid?"

Instead of apologizing, all Allen said was, "Don't call me kid."

"Right, your name was Alex, right?"

"Allen."

Edward smiled softly. "Allen, huh? Reminds me of my little brother's name." If Edward had noticed Allen flinch, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he sighed. "Look, Allen, I realize what I told you wasn't exactly great news to hear after waking up, but I'm not going to let you try an punch me every time you get angry." Allen mumbled something unintelligible. "Do you know alchemy?"

Edward was amazed to see a small smile appear on the young teen's face, and realized he had just stumbled upon a shared love between them. "Yes."

"Well, two alchemists will be better than one." Suddenly, the smile on Edward's face disappeared, and his face took on a look of determination. "Look, I promise I won't stop trying until we get back home." Allen looked hopeful for a moment. Edward stood and made his way towards the door as he said, "I'm going to go ask Noah if dinner's ready." With that, he left the room, leaving Allen to his thoughts.

-----

_The German is:_

_1. What is - ?_

_2. Everything is alright, Noah. Don't worry._

_3. Damn stupid kid._

_I don't know German, and just used an online translator, so sorry if my translations are incorrect._


	10. The Price

_Hey, I updated! Yay! Yeah, I know, it still took a while, but it was loads better than last time, huh? Anyway, not much to say about this except that I'm sorry it's short and it didn't really turned out the way I was hoping. And again, please tell me what you liked and didn't like (especially what you didn't like) and please correct my bad grammar if you see it. Thanks, enjoy._

_Allen: You just love to torture me, don't you?_

**o-o-o-o**

**_Chapter Nine: The Price_**

**o-o-o-o**

**-----**

Dinner tasted delicious, perfectly seasoned and full of flavor; the atmosphere needed some work, however. Allen sat next to Noah, his sight repeatedly falling on the blond man across from him. He had had a little while to think about his discoveries before Noah had invited him down for dinner.

Noah and Edward carried on the only conversation at the table; the Roma woman occasionally attempted conversation with Allen but always ended up falling silent when he stared at her without response. Of course Edward could've translated, but Allen stubbornly refused to talk to him and Edward stubbornly did the same.

In fact, the man barely even looked at the teen across from him, probably still angry at their previous argument. If he had been thinking straight, Allen might have admitted the hostility Edward was showing him was all due to his earlier outburst, but instead, he simply hated Edward even more.

His thoughts had been in chaos after Edward had left the room; even now, he wasn't sure he had completely managed to comprehend the situation, but there were a few things he knew for sure:

a) as much as he hated to admit it, the man across from him was his father.

b) he was currently trapped in a parallel world where alchemy didn't exist.

c) his only way home was through the Gate - where he would rather not return now that he was starting to remember his time in there - that could only be summoned by the alchemy that didn't exist.

d) whether Edward had abandoned his family or actually been trapped here all this time, it didn't change the fact that he had never played a part in Allen's childhood and wasn't even aware of the fact that Allen was in anyway connected to his previous life in Amestris.

And due to reason D, Allen decided that he would _**never**_ let Edward know that he was Allen's father.

Noah suddenly hissed at Edward in her strange language and Allen glanced up to see her smack the blond man on the shoulder. 'Wasn't he supposed to be missing that arm?', Allen wondered, trying to recall all the stories of his father. He was quite sure that was the reason he was called the Fullmetal Alchemist in the first place.

Edward narrowed his eyes and the woman, who frowned at him in response, nodding her head towards Allen. The blond man sighed irritably before turning to face the confused teen.

"She wants me to talk to you," he explained with a scowl.

"Why would she want that?" Allen muttered, stabbing the green beans on his plate angrily.

"Who know," Edward sighed. Silence reigned once again, the only sound the clinking of dishes as Noah began to clear the table. Allen stood, grabbing his plate and following Noah to the sink, glad for a chance to avoid Edward.

But upon reaching the sink, Noah took the plate from him, smiled, and sent him back to the still-eating Edward. The two glanced at each other before Allen mumbled something about sleep and stumbled back upstairs to his temporary room.

Upon reaching the room the exhausted teen collapsed on the bed. It didn't matter that he wasn't doing any serious exercise, simply walking up and down the stairs wore him out. His body was still weak and sore from both the car accident and what he figured was a result of the Gate.

His injuries, however, were much better than they could be. After all, after being hit with a car he was lucky his injuries consisted of mostly scrapes and bruises. He figured he also had a broken rib - and possibly a minor concussion from the way his head kept pounding - but even that would heal rather easily. As for the Gate…..

…..he had never dealt with the Gate before, and he hadn't really talked with anyone who had. Except for Edward and his Uncle. Allen sighed, trying to remember all of his Uncle's stories. There were millions of them, dating all the way back to when he was a toddler. He knew some of them had to have been about the Gate, but he couldn't remember anything. And what Edward had mentioned hadn't helped him either.

He had been injured before the accident, he knew that much. How was the question.

Allen rubbed his pounding head, stopping when he came across the bandages covering his eye. Slowly, the teen sat up, still fingering the bandage. Exiting the bedroom he glanced around the hallway for a bathroom; halfway down the hall from his bedroom, he discovered one. It was a simple bathroom containing only a shower/bathtub, toilet, cabinet and the item of his search: a mirror.

Allen's only visible eye widened as he looked at himself in the mirror; his shoulder-length hair was dirty and caked in dried blood. Instead of pulled back out of his face in a low ponytail, it hung loosely around his face. Dirty, blood covered bandages wrapped around his head and covered his left eye. Scrapes and dirt lined his face, a rather nasty bruise off to the right side of his forehead. Slowly and cautiously he began to remove the bandages around his head. Just as he was reaching for the bandage covering his eye, Edward stopped outside of the bathroom.

"Hold on," Edward exclaimed, heading towards him. "I wouldn't-" Allen gasped, the bandage falling from his hands to the bathroom floor as he stared in horror at his reflection.

The area around his eye looked like it had been gnawed at, the skin ripped and clawed off by some creature. It wasn't just the top layer of skin either; it was like it had been clawed to the skull in places, and somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that it would leave a scar.

But his mind wasn't even focused on that. Instead he was staring at his eye.

Or where his eye was supposed to be.

Instead, he stared at an empty socket where his left eye used to be.

"Look kid," Edward began awkwardly, putting a hand on the teen's shoulder. But Allen didn't hear him; he didn't even realize Edward was there.

Suddenly, Allen yelled in surprise, clutching at the sink to keep himself up. His eye….wasn't there….gone…

Allen was in a daze as Edward helped steer him back towards his room and helped him sit down on the edge of the bed. "My eye…" he muttered, raising a hand to lightly touch at the healing flesh around the empty eye socket before Edward pulled his hand back.

"It was your price," was all the older man said, grabbing some new bandages sitting on the dressers. Allen glanced up at him, eyebrows raised in confusion. "The Gate requires a price to get through," Edward explained, wincing slightly as he thought about it. "The eye was your price, and in order to get through the Gate, it was taken from you. I know this sounds harsh, but you're pretty lucky."

"Lucky?" Allen grumbled as Edward began rewrapping bandages around his head. "I loose my eye and you call me lucky?"

Edward frowned. "It's better than an arm or leg. Or something life-threatening. Whether you like it or not, you can live without an eye."

"I gave up my eye to come to a place I didn't even want to end up in. And now there is probably no chance of me ever getting back home. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call that lucky."

Edward finished tying the bandages and turned towards the door. "It's late and you're exhausted, go to bed, Allen. Besides, I promised. I'll find a way home."

And with that, he left, Allen glaring at his retreating back.


	11. Reluctant Truce

_Okay, it's been ages since I've posted, I know. I really am very sorry. I'm not going to bore you by giving an excuse, I'm just going to say that I do have a life outside the computer (shocking, I know) and a lot of things were coming up all at once. So, sorry._

_So here's the next chapter, finally. I know it's not much, again, sorry. But it's something, right? And I'll be working on getting a new, better, longer chapter up when I have more time._

* * *

**o-o-o-o**

**_Chapter Ten: Reluctant Truce_**

**_o-o-o-o_**

Allen awoke the next morning feeling better than he had the previous night. He had managed to sleep peacefully, without being haunted by nightmares of the gate. He sat up slowly, grimacing slightly when his muscles ached. Fingering the bandages over what he now knew was an empty eye socket, he thought about the events of the previous day.

Everything was happening so fast. One minute he was with the General, feeling important to be on a military mission. And then the next thing he knew, he had somehow managed to get himself stuck…here. And then, out of the blue, his long, lost father shows up.

Allen sighed. If he didn't know better, he would've guessed he had landed himself in some badly written book. Everything that could happen seemed to be happening.

"_I promised, I'll get you home."_

Allen growled, flopping back down on his bed as he thought about his father. Edward Elric was…in short….nothing like he had expected. And yet, at the same time, he was exactly like the stories. It was odd, Allen decided, finally coming face to face with a man he had accepted as dead a long time ago.

Edward was stubborn and short-tempered, but so was Allen. His mother had always blamed his father for that. Though, others had argued that he had gotten it from his mother as well.

But Edward was also……well, Allen didn't quite know what he was. It was just so strange; everything was happening at once, and Allen's muddled brain couldn't comprehend it all.

_But…._he thought with a scowl, _Maybe I blamed him too much._

If Edward was telling the truth - and really, Allen had no reason to believe he wasn't - it meant that he had never meant to leave. Maybe he really had loved Winry, and he had always planned on coming home. Maybe it was the homunculi and the gate and whatever else hell decided to throw at him that had kept the man from ever coming home. Maybe Edward really had been trapped here all these years, wishing that he could come home.

And maybe Allen needed to stop hating him.

"DAMN IT!" Allen growled, pulling himself out of bed. Allen was the kind of person who rarely held grudges. Once something happened, he usually got over it pretty quickly. His father's disappearance, however, was something that he had never really gotten over. As much as he tried to deny it, he had always wanted Edward there. He had wanted a father, someone to teach him, love him. His grudge against Edward - one that had lasted seventeen years - was not something that was just going to disappear overnight. It wasn't just that grudge either. To Allen, Edward had become a scapegoat. Anything that went wrong in Allen's life could be blamed on Edward. He had spent seventeen years blaming his father for everything. It would be impossible for him to suddenly start loving the man.

But…..maybe he could bear being a little nicer to Edward. Nicer maybe, but he still wasn't going to tell him who he was. Edward had never been a father to him before, and he wasn't going to start being one now. Allen nodded, happy to have reached a decision.

As he stepped into the hallway, he could hear Noah and Edward talking downstairs. A delicious smell wafted upstairs.

But before he headed downstairs for breakfast, Allen went back to the bathroom. After rummaging through the drawers for a few minutes, he managed to locate a hairbrush and set to work on the disaster his hair had become. It was times like this that he had really hated his long hair. He wasn't really sure why he didn't just cut it off. Actually, he couldn't even remember what had spawned his decision to grow it out in the first place.

The teen grimaced in pain as the brush caught, refusing to release the hair it was tangled in. Muttering angrily, he tugged at the brush until it finally managed to break free, pulling quite a few hairs with it.

Allen scowled at the brush. Obviously this wasn't going to work. He glanced around the bathroom and noticed the shower next to him. A shower sounded nice. After all, he was still covered in dirt and grime and dried blood. He was still in his ripped and torn clothes too. He couldn't go on wearing what he was wearing for much longer.

Maybe Edward had something that would fit? Probably, considering they weren't far from each other in height. In fact, Allen was almost taller than Edward.

----

A nice, long shower later, Allen was shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. Noah's cooking was delicious; better than his mother's, actually. He felt great. Well, not great, considering his head still throbbed and his side hurt every time he moved. The accurate description would be that he felt better than before.

He was clean, the dirt and dried blood washed away. Edward had lent him some clothes, and even though the style of it was very different than he was used to - and kind of strange - he took it without complaint. He even thanked Edward, after asking nicely. Well, as nicely as he could with a grimace on his face. Edward had looked startled, but immediately smiled. The two were no longer avoiding each other like they had the previous day, and even with the language barrier, Allen could tell that Noah was ecstatic.

Allen was wearing simple black pants and a long-sleeved, button-up, white shirt. Over the shirt he wore a three buttoned dark green vest. The shirt sleeves kept getting in his way so he had rolled them up to his elbows. The metal transmutation circle bracelet was still wrapped around his wrist, and he had made sure that the necklace Alex had given him.

His hair had finally been brushed through and was now pulled back in a low ponytail.

Finishing off his meal, Allen headed towards the sink with his plate. A hand caught his wrist, and he was pulled back to the table by Edward. "Wha -?" he started to ask before noticing Edward was studying the transmutation bracelet on his wrist.

"Hmm…" Edward muttered, finally releasing the teen's wrist. "Interesting."

Allen smiled. Alchemy was the one thing the two of them managed to talk about without ever yelling at each other. "Yeah. I wanted to be able to do alchemy quickly, wherever I was, and not have to worry about a transmutation circle. But my mom would have killed me if I decided to tattoo myself. We always have spare metal laying around the house, so I decided to make this. It works too, if I do say so myself."

"Smart," Edward replied, nodding. Allen smiled, proud.

Noah, who had been watching the two with a smile, finally spoke up. She directed her words to Allen, who simply stared back at her in confusion. The woman frowned, annoyed that she could not speak with the boy.

"She wants to know if you'll come with her to the market," Edward explained, gathering up some papers that had been spread across one half of the table.

"Where are you going," Allen asked, watching him.

"Work."

"Work?"

Edward glanced up at him. "Yes work. I do have to pay the bills."

Allen nodded, returning to the table to take a seat. "So, you job is…?"

"I'm a professor at a local university," Edward replied, tossing the pile of papers into a small briefcase and heading towards the door. "And I'm almost late." And with that, he was gone.

Allen stared after him. Professor? He had to say that he had never once imagined the "great state alchemist Edward Elric" ever becoming a college professor. More like champion bull fighter, or something, what with the ridiculous stories he had heard.

Noah said something, and Allen turned to look at her.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before asking, "Go?" The word was heavily accented, and she seemed to be having a hard time pronouncing it correctly, but it was enough that he understood.

With a nod and a smile, Allen answered, "Yeah, go." The two locked up the house and left. Allen took in the sights around him, committing everything he saw to memory. For the first time, Allen was able to get a look at the world he had landed himself in.


	12. Author's Announcement and apologies

Allen followed Noah out the door before realizing something rather important. Without an explanation, he turned back towards the house, ran into a secluded room, and dragged the author out into the open. She grinned sheepishly at him before eyeing the reviews. Her eyes bugged out of her head. She couldn't believe it. A year without updating and she was still loved by her reviewers? How was this possible.

And long story short, the author(ess) felt very horrible indeed.

Real announcement:

I'm soooo sorry. I could come up with a thousand excuses (I'm in marching band, I'm in winterguard, I just moved halfway across the country, I was suffering from a lifethreatening case of writer's block, I completely forgot this story existed...) All of which are true, but do not excuse saying I was going to update and then not updating for over a YEAR! Ein Jahre! Uno ano!

I'm very sorry. I should have at least said this story was discontinued if I wasn't going to update it.

That being said...I don't know if I'm going to discontinue this. I'm heading off to New York tomorrow for a Chorus trip, so I won't be updating anytime soon.

I'll either update or officially discontinue this when I get back.

I'm so sorry for my long absensce. Thank you for still reviewing and loving this story even when it wasn't updated.

- Little Patch of Heaven

(and I apologize for the little teaser there at the beginning. I couldn't resist.)


	13. Author's Final Note

Alright. So. I've been sort of avoiding this story I know.

The fact is, I'm completely lost on how to continue this. I just don't have any good ideas, the plot that was barely pieced together has long since been forgotten and I just don't even know where to start.

I feel awful about discontinuing a story, especially one that recieved such a positive response, but I literally just don't want to continue this story anymore. It's sad, because I love the characters and situation I've already created but I just. I don't know, I simply don't enjoy writing this story anymore. And I don't want writing to become a chore; I want it to be a hobby, I want to only continue the stories I truely love writing.

I'm sorry but this story is now officially discontinued.

HOWEVER

Anyone who wants to continue this has my complete permission. Take my characters, take my plot, and do what you want with them. Please give them a good home.

I'm sorry.

Thank you for sticking with this story for so long. I don't deserve it I know.


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